-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The president she once pointed a gun at has been dead for nearly three years , and her longtime idol and leader , Charles Manson , remains in prison .

Lynnette `` Squeaky '' Fromme appears in court in Los Angeles , California , in December 1969 .

However , Lynette `` Squeaky '' Fromme is about to get her first taste of real freedom in more than three decades .

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons , Fromme , now 60 , is set to be released on parole August 16 .

Fromme is housed at Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth , Texas .

For years , she was one of Manson 's few remaining followers , as many other `` Manson Family '' members have shunned him . A prison spokeswoman would not say whether Fromme continues to correspond with Manson .

Fromme was convicted in 1975 of pointing a gun at then-President Gerald Ford in Sacramento , California . Secret Service agents prevented her from firing , but the gun was later found to have no bullet in the chamber , although it contained a clip of ammunition .

In a 1987 interview with CNN affiliate WCHS , Fromme , then housed in West Virginia , recalled the president `` had his hands out and was waving ... and he looked like cardboard to me . But at the same time , I had ejected the bullet in my apartment and I used the gun as it was . ''

She said she knew Ford was in town and near her , `` and I said , ' I got ta go and talk to him , ' and then I thought , ` That 's foolish . He 's not going to stop and talk to you . ' People have already shown you can lay blood in front of them and they 're not , you know , they do n't think anything of it . I said , ` Maybe I 'll take the gun , ' and I thought , ' I have to do this . This is the time . ' ''

She said it never occurred to her that she could wind up in prison . Asked whether she had any regrets , Fromme said , `` No . No , I do n't . I feel it was fate . '' However , she said she thought that her incarceration was `` unnecessary '' and that she could n't see herself repeating her offense .

`` My argument to the jury was , if she wanted to kill him , she would have shot him , '' John Virga , a Sacramento attorney appointed to defend Fromme , told CNN on Tuesday . `` She 'd been around guns . And let 's be realistic : We know the Manson family , at least some of them , are killers . ''

Fromme was sentenced to life in prison , but parole was an option at the time , although the federal system later abolished it , said Felicia Ponce , spokeswoman for the Bureau of Prisons . Inmates do receive `` good time '' -- for every year and one day they serve , Ponce said , 54 days are lopped off their sentence .

Fromme became eligible for parole in 1985 , Ponce said . According to reports , she for years waived her right to a parole hearing . The Bureau of Prisons would not say whether she changed her mind and requested a hearing , but the U.S. Parole Commission 's Web site says that everyone who wishes to be considered for parole , except those committed under juvenile delinquency procedures , must complete a parole application .

Federal inmates serving life are generally paroled after 30 years , unless the parole commission decides to block the release , according to a commission spokesman . Inmates who are paroled remain under supervision until the commission decides to terminate the sentence .

Fromme was not granted parole until July 2008 , Ponce said . She was not released then , however , because of extra time added to her sentence for a 1987 escape from the West Virginia prison , which occurred after her interview that same year . She was found two days later , only a few miles from the prison . At the time , prison officials said they were looking into rumors that Fromme escaped after hearing Manson was ill , according to news reports .

FMC-Carswell spokeswoman Maria Douglas would not comment on Fromme 's behavior in prison in recent years .

Fromme reportedly joined Manson 's family after meeting him in California in 1967 . She was not involved in the murders of seven people , including pregnant actress Sharon Tate , on August 9 and 10 , 1969 , that landed Manson and other followers in prison . However , she and other Manson followers maintained a vigil outside the courthouse during his trial .

In the WCHS interview , Fromme said that Manson should not be incarcerated because `` he did n't kill anybody . ... I would rather be in , because I know I laid a lot of my thinking in his mind . ''

Virga said he told the jury that Fromme assaulted Ford , but did not attempt to assassinate him . If Fromme had killed the president , no one would have listened to her , he said . `` She did n't want people to think she was a kook . ''

And she was n't , he said , recalling that Fromme was very cooperative during her trial and describing her as `` a bright , intelligent young woman '' from a middle-class family . `` It 's just hard to imagine how she got all caught up with Manson , '' he said .

Fromme wanted to be heard on issues including the environment , he said . `` She had certain causes that she wanted to talk about . But first and foremost in her mind was always Manson . ''

Explaining herself after the attempt , according to the book `` Real Life at the White House , '' Fromme said , `` Well , you know , when people treat you like a child and pay no attention to the things you say , you have to do something . ''

During her trial , Virga traveled to Washington to depose Ford , who testified on videotape about the incident .

In the 1978 interview , Fromme called Manson `` a once-in-a-lifetime soul . ... He 's got more heart and spirit than anyone I 've ever met . '' She said she still corresponded with him . `` He 's got everything he wants coming from me , 'cause he gave me everything . ''

She said then she did n't plan to seek a parole hearing : `` The parole board does not hold my life in its hands . And I do n't want to be too critical , but men tend to think they do . Charlie never thought he did . He never expressed all this desire for power , this desire for acceptance . ''

Ford died in 2006 at age 93 . The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation did not respond to CNN requests for comment on Fromme 's release .

Virga , who is still practicing in Sacramento , said he had not heard from Fromme since her sentencing in 1975 . `` I wish her the best , and hope everything works out for her , and hope she stays out of trouble , '' he said . `` She needs to stay out of trouble . She 's been in prison a long time ... it was , in my mind , a tragedy that she wound up a disciple of Manson . ''

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`` Squeaky '' Fromme was convicted in 1975 of pointing a gun at then-President Ford

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For years , she was one of Charles Manson 's few remaining followers

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According to reports , she for years waived her right to a parole hearing

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She was not involved in the murders that landed Manson , other followers in prison